Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Guest Post: Learn To Read – For FUN! by Stefanie Nicholas

When I was six, I had read every book on my
childhood bookshelf (which, thankfully, my parents kept well stocked), and
decided to check out my dad’s bookshelf. I read some of his books, too.

I fell in love with those books. I was
reading Stephen King as soon as mom conceded I was old enough – I was probably about ten.

I was lucky. I was naturally gifted at
reading, and pretty much always into reading and writing from a young age.

Unfortunately, I realize that not all kids
are like me.

Maybe you’re an adult and you want to be a
‘book person’. You want to find reading enjoyable, but it feels like work to
read. And because it feels like work to read, you don’t want to practice
reading. It becomes a cycle.

There’s
nothing wrong with not being a ‘natural’ reader.A
lot of people have learning disabilities such as dyslexia that make reading
very difficult. Some of us are very busy and have trouble finding the time, particularly
when reading takes forever. Maybe you
haven’t found your ‘niche’ of books that you love. Maybe you read okay, even
well, but is just is not FUN!

I think people unintentionally demonize and
ostracize non-readers. I think reading is so amazing – it has taught me hands
down more than any other method in my life. But it’s not that way for everyone,
and by acting like I’m superior because I was blessed with natural reading
ability, I’m discouraging readers!

Here are my tips for how to actually enjoy reading:

1. Force yourself to read every single day.

For me, it’s as simple as breathing. But if I didn’t read for
several years, like many people who have not read an actual book since school,
it would be a challenging task. But I promise you, practicing reading will make
it more enjoyable. You don’t have to read fifty pages a day. Try to find a
small, manageable novel that you know you can finish.

2. Don’t be scared to read big.

I know I’m
directly challenging my last point, because I think both work, for different people. I remember an episode of the TV
show Arthur where the one character
hated reading. His friends tried to help him by teaching him to read picture
books. In the end, he ends up plowing through Robin Hood, because it’s
something he enjoys. If you want to take on Tolstoy, don’t let me stop you.
Find what you love!

3. Join in with book culture.

I know, I
know. ‘Book people’ can be really elitist, which is something that makes me
sad. But MANY readers will be happy to share the love and joy of reading with
you. Having a friend to encourage you will help you so much. I’d recommend
joining Twitter and hooking up with other bookish people, or maybe finding a
Facebook group of like-minded individuals.

4. Document your progress.

Even if you’re not
a huge reader yet, what’s stopping you from starting a blog about your
experience? Who knows, perhaps it will end up being a book blog! Start a
journal, and write down how many pages you read every day. You’ll see how much
faster and better you are becoming. I’d join Goodreads – you can start a
challenge of how many books you want to read, and it’s a great place to get
recommendations! Even posting a daily count on Twitter or Facebook would work.

5. Just make sure

you are celebrating those
victories.

Keep going. It does get easier. If you never read, you will never be a reader.
Same goes for writing! Even if it’s tough, slow, and clumsy at first, and you
honestly can’t understand why people obsess over books. It absolutely gets
easier, and the more you read, the faster it will happen. Soon you will be
creating a movie in your mind with every book you read, the words jumping to
life.

♡ ♡ ♡

Building literacy and love for reading is
something I believe strongly in and want to share with as many people as I can.
As a writer, blogger, and reader, words give my life so much meaning – it’s
what God has given me to make my place in the world.

We readers are onto something.

♡ ♡ ♡

Stefanie owns CalledHis.com, a Christian
lifestyle blog for women where she shares her journey of “Perfectly Imperfect
Christianity”. She also likes to discuss books and writing from a Christian
perspective. Stefanie is a published poet and short story author, who dreams of
publishing a full-length book! She loves meeting and encouraging other women on
their journeys.

Connect with her: Bloglovin |Twitter |Facebook | Pinterest | Blog

♡ ♡ ♡

Thanks for joining us today, Stefanie!

Readers: Have you struggled with this in the past? What tips would you like to give those who may struggle with reading for fun?

Elected means chosen. There is a view held by many that when God elects or chooses people that they cannot resist God's calling. Israel was God's elect or chosen people. God did not just select certain Jews to be saved and other Jews to be lost. Salvation was offered to the whole nation of Israel.

Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the people who are on the face of the earth.

The Jews were God's elect. Did any of them ever reject that election? Yes they did; because they had free-will.

1 Samuel 8:7 The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

They rejected God as king.

Numbers 14:11 The Lord said to Moses, "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?

These people were the elect of God, but they would not believe in Him. Even though they were God's elect He did not force them to believe and obey Him. THEY HAD FREE-WILL.

Acts 7:51 "You men who are stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.

Israel was God's chosen people; they were His elect, however, they always resisted the Holy Spirit. Most of them rejected Jesus as the Christ. THEY HAD FREE-WILL.

Does God arbitrarily condemn some men to hell and elect a chosen few for salvation? NO, HE DOES NOT!

WHO ARE THE ELECT OF GOD TODAY?

Acts 10:34-43 Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. 36......Jesus Christ....43 Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness from sins.

WHO ARE THE ELECT OF GOD TODAY? All who believe in Jesus Christ. Yes, everyone has the chance to become the elect, the chosen of God.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

WHO ARE GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE? WHO ARE GOD'S ELECT? EVERY JEW AND EVERY GREEK WHO MEETS GOD'S TERMS FOR PARDON UNDER THE NEW COVENANT ARE THE ELECT OF GOD. THEY ARE ALL GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE.

As an English teacher, I can applaud anyone who tries to encourage people to read! I was a reader my whole life as well. I used to check out so many books from the library that I couldn't see over the stack.

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